Sometimes at night I am just amazed at how quiet the house can be.  After a day full of racing, chasing, bouncing, dancing, singing, it feels like the walls should continue to echo long after everyone is in bed.

Happy holidays!! I can’t believe another year is gone.  I’m praying 2010 is going to be a great year!

One of the holiday things our family did this year was making candy.  We made several different kinds and had so much fun!  K’s specialty was making lollipops.  He made another batch today of cinnamon, and he is definitely a pro now.

In the last  couple of weeks or so we have also made fudge, toffee, pralines (oh yum!!), and dipped pretzels.  I made a batch of divinity, too, but had to throw it out.  It was raining (of course) when I made it, and with the Weather Channel stating 97% humidity the divinity turned out with a consistency of silly putty.  I guess I should have believed all the recipes when they said not to make it in high humidity!  Anyway, it was fun, and we felt a little bit like we were creating a Good Eats episode when we were discussing the science behind why sugar acts like it does, what the different cooking temperatures does to it, and all the little intricacies involved in candy-making.

The weather forecast right now is even favorable for some photos!  Those three things happening at the same time are definitely once in a lifetime for Oregon.

We have had some cooler days and nights lately, and on Tuesday, E3 pulled the shirt out of her basket and put it on.  I can’t believe it even went over her head.  She generously decided that really it was time to pass it on to E4.  E4 immediately pulled it on, and has pretty much worn it constantly the past 2 days, except when I can convince her it’s warmed up too much and she’s going to get too hot.

A quick aside- E3 picked out a great book at the library last week that talked about passing on beloved things that have been outgrown- Little Bear’s Little Boat by Eve Bunting.  I don’t know if it was what made it easier to give up the shirt, but I think it probably helped.

Randy Pausch passed away today.  Dr. Pausch was a professor at Carnegie Mellon, and through the wonders of the internet, his last lecture, given in September, 2007, is able to be shared with the world. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo 

Okay, I keep editing this, because I just can’t figure out exactly what I want to say about it.  It’s just an inspiring speech, and it really got me thinking about goals, dreams, what’s important, and what I want my kids to learn about life.

That is all.

Saturday we got together with all of my husband’s family to dye eggs and just have fun.  This year we also had some friends join us, increasing the child count from 7 to 11.  Thankfully for the adults’ sanity, it was a gorgeous sunny day, so the kids were able to dye the eggs and play outside.  Boy did they play!

When the egg dyeing started, I was inside with E4, so K grabbed my camera to make sure we at least got some pictures.  He always gets some great pictures, I get jealous and then don’t let him use my camera for a while.  (The picture at the beginning of the post is mine, but it’s one of only a few decent ones.)  It is amazing to me how fast 6 dozen eggs can be dyed.

As the kids were working on the eggs, a hot air balloon appeared over the trees in the northeast.  It got closer and closer and landed in a nearby field.  The kids (okay adults, too) were really excited watching it.  K’s photo, again.

Sunday afternoon we all headed back out to K’s parent’s house, as we traditionally eat Easter dinner together, and K’s mom puts together Easter baskets for all the grandkids and organizes Easter eggs hunts.

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One for E4 by herself, since she has to eat gluten free right now- and apparently, prefers the plastic eggs to the candy. (This photo is mine .)  One hunt for the younger kids, and one more for the older kids.  It was raining this year, so the hunts took place in the living room.

The older 3 kids slept really well Sunday night.

Last night, we discovered that we were wrong that E3 was the only one who could: E4 pulled one of her spoons out of the dishwasher E2 was emptying, promptly stuck it on the end of her nose, looked up at me and just laughed out loud. Then I spent the next 45 minutes trying to get her to leave one there so I could get a picture.